Some random thoughts. You’ll want to get passports sorted sooner than later.
You want to sign up to make gingerbread houses once you get on board. It was so much fun.
And make sure you have the cruise line app downloaded to your phone. The paper schedules are at customer service or on your phone. I preferred the paper copy to look over at breakfast each day.
We both liked having a balcony. It made the room feel more like a hotel room. However, I wouldn’t waste money on it for kids that won’t be old enough to appreciate it.
I’m pretty sure there is an up charge for the kids activities. You’re basically paying for daycare.
The soap dispenser at the laundry machines is a terrible system. Bring your own laundry detergent. Also, the iron and ironing board is in the laundry room, so plan accordingly. It wasn’t always available.
Tips will be automatically tagged onto your bill the night before last. The first cruise day is a lot of settling in, so I wouldn’t really count it.
You’re going during flu season, so you might catch the flu. My significant other and myself both caught the flu on our holiday cruise. And we both had flu shots, so it’s wasn’t that bad.
Florida does get cold in December, so plan accordingly for your departure day and arrival day. Our departure day was great. Our arrival day back was super cold.
Rental car companies do have shuttles to the cruise lines.
Eat whatever your waiter recommends. The food in the restaurants is much better than at the buffet, which you’ll be eating at your first day. You don’t have a choice. Again eating at a buffet during flu season grosses me out.
There is also a restaurant to get breakfast.
The food on the deck of the ship is about as good as frozen pizzas, so given how much you’re spending, I’d eat the higher quality food. Both of the pay up restaurants are worth it if you want good streak and seafood. Book these first. You won’t get good streak in the rotational restaurants since it’s being mass produced. It will most likely be overcooked.
Some of the shows feel like Disney commercials. The first show on our fantasy cruise was one big commercial. The rest were good and worth going too. Also, movie premieres are worth it too.
The cooking demonstrations are good.
Castaway Cay will cancel your excursions if you get bad weather. They canceled ours, so we rented bikes and rode them around, not quite the same as in Michigan. The island is pretty tiny. The rental fee for the bikes is cheaper at the adult beach. No idea why.
Also, don’t forget to grab towels as you get off the ship. They don’t have them at the beaches, which are a little underwhelming if you’ve been to Hawaii. I prefer the Pacific Ocean.
The spa is a huge up sell with less than great service. My significant other was being up sold for products during her massage. Not cool. I’d skip it completely. The gym is really small, so plan for it.
The desert shop is really good.
The adult pool section is a nice escape. Some kids do occasionally go into the section, but most parents are good enough to keep them out.
Overall, we had a great experience. But you’re paying up for Disney, so you want to take advantage of the better options, especially concerning food items.
Finally, the Dis just posted a video of the holiday cruise about a day ago on YouTube that’s worth checking out.
